


i would know you in a thousand worlds

by ObscureReference



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Car Accidents, M/M, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 02:21:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: Perhaps this was karma biting him in the ass for not considering the possibility of meeting his second soulmate more seriously.





	i would know you in a thousand worlds

**Author's Note:**

> I love soulmate AUs and trying to get a good grasp on characterization.
> 
> NOTE: (Small spoilers here but also somewhat relevant to your level of comfortability.) Niles and Leo here meet similarly to how they meet in canon, and I'm not sure how to tag "kid breaks into another kid's house and asks for death when he's caught." It's not really touched upon too much, but it's there, so read or don't as you see fit. Or you can skip to the lines "And that, as Elise would often say..." to get past it.

It would have been a lie to say a noise woke Leo up in the middle of the night.

This would have been a lie primarily because Leo had never gone to sleep in the first place, and secondarily because even at thirteen years old, Niles was already an astounding thief.

Later, Leo would find out that Niles had come with a small posse to pull the job, and that it was their incompetence that had alerted him that something wasn’t quite right that night. Later, he would hear about how they had fled at the first sign of trouble, leaving Niles alone to take whatever punishment he was to be given by himself.

But that was later. And in the moment—ignorant of the thieves already running down the street, too caught between convincing himself monsters weren’t real and the thought that maybe he should wake Xander or Camilla anyway—an eleven year old Leo walked into the kitchen to find the boy that would be his soulmate robbing his house.

Leo froze.

The boy froze.

Time stood still.

The boy that Leo would later come to find out was Niles stood a few inches taller than Leo, though he was not much in the way of broad shoulders. His clothes were dark and well-worn; his hair was pale in the dim moonlight. The thief wore a frayed eyepatch over one eye, which ridiculously reminded Leo of the pirate novels he had tucked into the bottom shelf on his bookcase until he reminded himself that this was _not_ a book, _not_ a fantasy, and there was very much a stranger standing in his kitchen.

Leo was not the type of child who relished physical fights, though he saw the benefit when necessary. He knew some basic moves, things Camilla and Xander had taught him in their free time, but it wasn’t enough to win any kind of long-lasting altercation. If he screamed, it was only somewhat likely anybody would hear him before the stranger tried anything. Screaming also would have caused him to lose face, which was a thought that bothered Leo to no end.

Leo could have run away, but there were too many unknown ways that could have gone wrong. The mansion was a big place, and there were many shadows within it. Especially at night, when children such as himself were supposed to be sleeping instead of holed up in the library for hours on end. Or so Camilla would have said.

So, with more confidence than he really felt, Leo blindly reached behind for the drawer he knew was behind him and pulled out a knife. It felt much too big for his hand. He hoped it didn’t show, even though it probably did.

The stranger in his kitchen—the boy only a few years older than him, really—stood several feet away. He did not blink when Leo pulled out the knife. He did not move. Leo had the impression of a tiger waiting for an opportunity to strike.

With all the confidence he could muster, Leo said, “I think the law would be on my side if I killed you.”

Leo’s Father often toed the line between legal and illegal. Leo thought he knew the law rather well by now.

Something in the boy’s face shifted. His shoulders slumped. He looked, for lack of a better word, defeated.

Leo frowned.

The thief in his kitchen did something unexpected.

He lowered himself to his knees.

“Then please kill me,” Leo’s soulmate said.

Leo’s shoulder tingled. The words on his skin felt alive.

Leo was eleven. He was not ready to be, nor did he want to be, a killer. He especially did not want to kill his soulmate, even if soulmates meant nothing at all. The knife had always been a bluff.

Camilla had a lot of romantic notions about soulmates. She often cooed over the words on Corrin and Elise’s skin, prematurely charmed by these “no doubt adorable” strangers her siblings hadn’t even met yet. (“Though not as adorable as you, darling,” she always added to whomever she was speaking to.) But it was notable that she was also the first to warn her siblings about the darkness in men’s hearts and lecture Elise especially about how trust had to be earned. Camilla was never as open about her own soulmark.

Xander got a crease between his eyebrows whenever the subject came up. He never talked about his own marks or Father’s. It was well known that none of their mothers were soulmates with Father.

Leo’s family did not have a good record with soulmates. He had good reason to be wary and not to believe the nonsense the TV spewed about blind trust and faith and love conquering all.

This boy was a stranger. The fact his words were tattooed on Leo’s shoulder meant ultimately nothing. The fact that they had met under these circumstances said more.

Leo did not have to bluff anymore. He could just as easily call for Camilla or Xander or even the police now that the thief in his kitchen had shown a willingness to give up.

But—

There was no “but.” Leo’s options were crystal clear.

_But._

He was hyperaware of Xander and Camilla sleeping a few yards above him. He was equally aware of how Corrin or Elise could have wandered downstairs at any moment, putting themselves in danger.

Leo waited. Nobody else walked into the kitchen.

His soulmate did not move. The boy looked at the tile, and Leo looked at the boy. The clock on the oven said it was well after midnight. It was the only source of light in the kitchen besides the moonlight that streamed thinly through the window.

Leo only noticed these facts because they felt important. A lot of things seemed important, suddenly. Like getting a closer look at his soulmate’s face.

He set the knife on the counter and pretended his hands weren’t shaking. His heart hammered in his chest.

Leo padded over to the boy. His footsteps seemed too loud on the kitchen tile, but the boy did not look up or acknowledge him at all. His hair fell over his face, so Leo crouched down in front of him to catch his eye.

It was very white hair. Leo thought it would have looked even whiter after a good shower.

“What’s your name?” Leo asked.

 

 

 

 

It was Elise—six years old and the earliest riser of them all when Leo and Xander actually went to bed—who found them first. Nobody could get the story out of her, but when Camilla walked into the kitchen that morning, she found Leo dutifully pouring his little sister a bowl of cereal as Elise, too short for her feet to touch the ground even while sitting, kicked her feet back and forth in the air.

There were two other bowls of cereal on the table. Leo had clearly eaten one. The other sat in front of Niles, who at that point Camilla only recognized as a grubby, dirty faced child Elise was excitedly talking to.

Niles—scruffy, no shoes, threadbare everything—shoveled the spoon in his mouth and didn’t respond. Elise was not deterred.

Camilla looked at the boy sitting at her kitchen table, and her mind immediately drifted to what her father would say. The boy—soon to be Niles, but not yet—froze when he saw her. He knew when he was caught. Camilla didn’t miss the way he looked to Leo in response.

Leo—Camilla’s baby brother who tried so hard and asked for so little—gathered himself up as much as his eleven year old body would allow and looked Camilla dead in the eye, unwavering.

Camilla looked at the dirty boy who seemed ready to run even with the spoonful of cereal frozen halfway to his mouth.

Xander would be running downstairs soon, ready to get to school and ready to skip breakfast entirely. But he would peak his head in the kitchen before he left. What would he say when he saw Leo and this stranger? What would Father say?

Elise waved her hand in front of Leo’s face and loudly asked for more milk. Before Leo could move, the still yet unnamed boy at the end of the table hopped out of his chair and opened the fridge. Camilla and Leo watched in silence as he poured milk for Elise. They watched as he put the milk back.

Camilla continued to watch as the boy, who now defiantly refused to even glance in her direction, sat down in his chair and all but shoveled his now soggy cereal into his mouth.

Leo was looking at him too. It was difficult to describe the look on his face. Camilla wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her baby brother look like that.

Elise, oblivious to the conflict laid out before her, spilled some cereal in her lap. She ignored that as well and waved happily to Camilla. Leo and the unnamed boy seemed to relax.

Camilla breathed in.

 

 

 

 

_And that_ , Elise would often say, _was the story of how Leo met his_ first _soulmate_.

Those words usually caused everyone in the vicinity to either groan or don a very pinched expression.

Because if a break-in in the middle of the night was how Leo met his first soulmate, they couldn’t imagine how he’d meet his second.

(Leo often pointed out that things had gone rather smoothly after the whole “breaking into your house” part had blown over, minus a few unavoidable bumps along the way. Nobody ever listened. Niles only laughed.)

 

 

 

 

“I don’t need an escort everywhere,” Leo said. He studiously refused to fiddle with the flap of his messenger bag. He’d already checked his supplies ten times over that morning, and Niles would have only taken it as a sign that he really did need to come along anyway.

“You wound me,” Niles drawled. He wore an obviously fake pout. “Is it a crime for a man to escort his boyfriend to class?”

“I know you just want to know where I am at all times,” Leo said. “And I know you already have my schedule memorized.”

Niles smiled slyly. “Ah. So you’ve figured me out.”

Leo straightened his shirt for the last time before pecking Niles on the cheek. “I’ve had you figured out for years, dear. I’ll be back this afternoon.”

He chuckled affectionately as Niles gently touched the space on his cheek Leo had kissed with his fingertips and leaned against the wall like a person on the brink of passing out.

“Oh, my!” Niles moaned, breathless. “I shall await your return with bated breath!”

“Good _bye_ , Niles.” Leo smiled.

Niles peered at him with his good eye. “Goodbye, darling.”

Leo hummed as he walked out the front door. Niles always had been the protective type, but Leo knew for a fact that Niles had his own thesis work to be doing that day. He certainly wouldn’t be sitting around the house doing nothing, waiting for Leo to return. Niles liked to tease more than was true.

It was with that knowledge in mind that Leo made his way to class with a clear conscience.

Or, he would have, if he had made it to class in the first place.

 

 

 

 

Being hit by a car did not occur the same way it did in the movies. There was no dramatic, slow pan of a camera. In fact, Leo did not see it coming at all.

Likewise, he did not see the man who tackled him from behind, though Leo certainly _felt_ him. It was hard not to notice the full weight of another’s body slamming into his own, nor the strangled grunt of pain in his ear as the hood of the car hit Leo’s side—less painful than if Leo had taken its full brunt alone but still decidedly sharp. Whoever had tackled Leo had wrapped their arms around him, and Leo was struck with the odd thought that they must have been rather strong considering they did not release their grip even as he and Leo went tumbling over one another across the pavement.

Leo understood terms like _trauma_ and _shock_. He’d read up them well, even before Elise had started nosing through medical textbooks in her free time. Still, despite Leo’s brain reminding himself that it was important to stay still until he knew the extent of his injuries, Leo couldn’t stop himself from sitting upright the moment the rolling came to a halt and the arms wrapped around his torso went slack.

When Leo sat up, he was hyperaware of everything. The car, the crowd, the fact that he was lying in the middle of the road, his spilled bag—he put the pieces together quickly. If there was one thing Leo had always prided himself on, it was his intellect. Dully, he was glad to know it was dependable even in urgent circumstances.

A woman on the sidewalk had already pulled out her phone and was loudly talking to emergency services about what had happened. Good.

Leo looked down at the man that had tackled him.

The man on the ground was shorter than Leo. Shorter than Niles, certainly, but it was difficult to be sure when neither of them were standing and Niles was absent.

Niles.

Leo grimaced and became aware of a graze on his chin. Niles was going to be very displeased.

Still, that was a thought for later.

The man’s eyes were closed, and for a moment Leo was startled into thinking he was dead. But then— _no_ , Leo thought. His chest was moving. As much as he looked it, with his scraped skin and bloody face, the man wasn’t dead.

Leo was suddenly aware that he should be moving.

He quickly shifted to his knees, ignoring the twinge of pain as he moved, and reached for the man’s neck. Shaking a trauma victim was a stupid move, but Leo could still feel for a pulse.

It was there, fluttering just underneath the skin. Leo’s body nearly went slack with relief.

He didn’t move his fingers, fearful that the man’s heart would somehow stop if Leo wasn’t there to monitor it at all times, as absurd as that thought was.

“Are you awake?” Leo asked, breathless. He didn’t ask anything as absurd as _Are you all right?_ considering clearly neither of them were. “Can you hear me?”

Distantly, he was aware of some commotion behind him—the driver of the car getting out, perhaps, or someone demanding space—but Leo was entirely focused on making sure the man who saved him didn’t die before the paramedics arrived.

By some miracle, the man’s eyes opened.

“Hark,” the man rasped, speaking as if there were something thick in his mouth. “An angel appears before me.”

_He’s dying_ , Leo thought wildly. The man was clearly hallucinating. There was a bit of blood on the man’s lip, and Leo couldn’t tell if he was bleeding internally or if it was a superficial wound.

The man tried to lift his head from the pavement for one reason or another, but Leo shoved him back down, forgetting for a moment that he shouldn’t jostle any wounds. Thankfully the man didn’t seem to notice any pain in his delirium.

“Don’t move,” Leo told him. He thought he could hear sirens in the distance. He debated the merits of giving his jacket to the man as an impromptu pillow versus irritating any neck injuries the man had.

“Death must not have forsaken me,” the man slurred. “For a most beautiful being such as yourself could never appear before the eyes of—” He winced in pain, though Leo couldn’t find the source. “mortal men.”

So he wasn’t seeing creatures that weren’t there, Leo thought. He was just mistaking _Leo_ for one.

“ _Please_ stop talking,” Leo stressed. It was doing much more harm than good. When the man opened his mouth again, Leo interrupted with, “What’s your name?”

“My name?”

For a moment Leo was fearful that the man’s head wound was worse than he first feared, but then the man continued, “How blessed I must be to—”

“Sir, please,” Leo said. He felt a headache coming on.

“Owain,” the man finished. He blinked sedately. “M’ name’s Owain.”

He’d dropped a syllable. Leo frowned.

“It’s nice to meet you, Owain,” he said. “I think you may have saved my life.”

Owain breathed in slowly. Leo’s eyes narrowed at the sluggish movement.

“Talk about a good first impression.”

“I—yes, I suppose so,” Leo agreed.

Owain hummed, his eyes falling shut. “Wow. My soulmate’s an angel.”

Leo froze. The skin on his shoulder tingled. It was an achingly familiar feeling.

He breathed in sharply. He opened his mouth, feeling stupid, but Owain had slipped back into unconsciousness.

The ambulance arrived.

 

 

 

 

The ride to the hospital was a blur, though Leo distinctly recalled thinking that if he had to miss the first day of the semester, this was as good an excuse as any.

He could have been cleared at the scene. He remembered that much. Except he’d insisted on being taken to the hospital as well, if only to make sure his hero-slash-possible-soulmate survived the trip. Besides, he knew Niles and the others would insist he go as soon as they heard about this anyway. And with the whole “possible soulmate” angle there, it would have been foolish not to follow.

Though Leo doubted the “possible” aspect of the equation need be there. Even delirious, Owain had called Leo his soulmate, and Leo knew the words on his skin well enough.

_Hark, an angel appears before me_ right under Niles’ _Then please kill me._ It was quite the combination.

Leo had always known he had two soulmates. He just had not expected to meet them like this. If they met at all.

It was not guaranteed that one would meet their soulmate. And with two soulmates, Leo had contented himself with knowing he had Niles, who was the greatest comfort Leo dare ask for.

Niles had two phrases on his skin as well. Leo had toyed with the idea that his unknown soulmate and Niles’ were the same person, and it seemed likely, given the already present connection between Niles and Leo, but it was not guaranteed. If Owain was not also Niles’ soulmate, Leo wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

But they had to cross that bridge when they got to it. The first step before anything else was to be honest.

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” Niles said over the phone after Leo finished explaining the situation and assuring his boyfriend that he was fine, save for a few new scrapes and slightly dirtier clothes than that morning.

The hospital was a thirty minute car ride from Leo’s house. It was fifteen minutes from the university. Leo didn’t know where Niles was leaving from, but if he said he would arrive in five minutes, Leo believed him.

Leo sat back in the lumpy waiting room chairs and waited.

Camilla had always said he was special for having two soulmates and that he was all the more precious for it, even if she’d clearly been wary of Nile’s words on his shoulder for a long time. Some of that wariness had extended into the period of time _after_ he’d met Niles as well. Their relationship had always been a work in progress. But Camilla had never relented with her “precious” and “special” comments. Leo wasn’t sure he agreed.

Of course, Camilla usually said these things while clutching Leo so tightly to her chest that it became difficult to breathe, so he usually avoided the subject unless he felt like literally choking on love. Perhaps this was karma biting him in the ass for not considering the possibility of meeting his second soulmate more seriously.

Owain’s injuries weren’t severe enough for surgery, but he’d still been wheeled away to a private room as soon as he arrived. Leo wasn’t family and normally he wouldn’t have been told even that much, but Owain’s family wasn’t present and after Leo had somewhat abashedly explained the circumstances to the nurse, she assured him he would be notified as soon as there was news.

Niles appeared before the nurse did.

The first thing Niles did was, predictably, make sure Leo was okay, despite the fact Leo had assure him as much over the phone.

Leo didn’t blame him; he would have done the same in Niles’ shoes.

“I’m fine,” he murmured as Niles ran his hands over Leo’s neck and face. “I told you I’m fine.”

Despite his assurances, he practically melted as Niles pressed his lips to Leo’s forehead. His mouth was warm on Leo’s skin. It felt like home.

“Just checking,” Niles said softly. It was possible he was shaking.

Leo’s eyes were closed. For a moment, he allowed himself to get lost in the safety that was Niles. He curled his fingers around the back of Niles’ hand.

“He’s in room 204,” Leo eventually said, slowly opening his eyes. He did not let go of Niles’ hand, however. “He’s under observation. No visitors.”

Niles hummed. His fingers trailed down Leo’s sides, searching for some bump or bruise the doctors might have missed. “We’ll see about that.”

Niles had appeared before the nurse, but that did not stop him from sneaking into Owain’s room while the doctors weren’t looking.

He was gone for maybe five minutes before he returned. Leo pretended his impatience wasn’t as gnawing as it truly was.

“So?” Leo prompted as Niles plopped into the seat beside him, unable to keep his eagerness in check. “Is he—”

“He is,” Niles said. Without looking, he reached down and pulled at his pant leg, revealing the _Have you come to take me into the next world, you fiend_ underneath.

Owain had clearly mistaken Niles for some harbinger of death. Even with the pale hair and the eyepatch, it was a little hard to imagine. Leo could only imagine what Niles had said in response.

Leo nodded. “I see.”

_And?_ The unspoken question floated between them.

Niles shrugged, looking down the hallway at several hospital staff that wandered the halls. “My final judgement is yet to be determined. Perhaps when he is less delirious on pain killers.”

“No, I…” Leo hesitated, but the look Niles shot him prompted him to continue. “That might just be how he talks.”

“Oh?” Niles considered this. “Hmm. That might be interesting. Or annoying.”

It was Leo’s turn to hum. There were an infinite number of variables stretched out before them. They would have no answers until Owain was more coherent.

Silently, Leo reached out and intertwined his fingers with Niles’ own. He didn’t have to look to see the smile on Niles’ face.

“To be fair,” Niles said. “There are worse ways to make a first impression. Even if jumping using his body as a human shield was rather stupid.”

Leo glanced at him. “Are you telling me you wouldn’t have tried the same thing?”

Niles had pulled more than a few stupid stunts in the name of “protecting” Leo in the past. Leo wouldn’t have put jumping in front of a car past him.

“Would you?” Niles askes.

“Most likely.”

“I didn’t meant to imply I wouldn’t.”

“I know.” Leo slouched, leaning his head on Niles’ shoulder. Niles tilted his head until it was resting against Leo’s. They were still holding hands. “…Thank you. For meeting me.”

“That’s my line,” Niles said. His voice was full of warmth. Leo considered falling asleep right there. The rush of nearly dying had long since worn off.

A man with pink hair walked into the lobby. Leo was idly distracting himself with theories as to how he made the pink hair look so natural when he heard the man say, “Excuse me, miss? I’m looking for a friend. He was hit by a car earlier.”

Leo sat up. Niles did the same.

The nurse behind the counter asked a question, and the pink haired man nodded.

“His name is Owain,” he said. “I’m not sure if he’s in your system yet, but he has a birthmark—”

The nurse said something else.

Pink haired man nodded, relieved. “Yes, that’s him.”

The woman behind the counter began to type away at her screen. While she did, Niles said, loudly, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but hear you say the name Owain?”

The pink haired man looked in their direction. He was smiling, but his face was strained. “Yes? How can I help you?”

“He saved my life,” Leo said, cutting right to the chase.

Pink haired man didn’t even look fazed.

“Of course he did,” he said under his breath. His tone was a cross between exasperated and fond.

“Would it be all right if I thanked him properly?” Leo asked. “After the rest of his family visits, of course.”

Pink haired man nodded. “Yes, of course. I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you. I’ll just call his mother and let her know.”

“His mother?” Niles raised an eyebrow. “Then who are you?”

“Owain’s… brother,” the man said after a beat. “Basically.”

There was a story there, but Leo didn’t think it good to pry until he got to know Owain a bit more. He could tell Niles didn’t quite agree, but a quick jab to the ribs kept him from asking any inappropriate questions.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Leo said. “We won’t keep you any longer. I’m sure you’re eager to see him.”

Pink haired man smiled thankfully. “I’ll let you know when he’s ready for visitors. My name is Inigo, by the way.” He looked at them curiously. “Who should I say wants to see him?”

“The reaper and an angel,” Niles immediately said.

Inigo stared. Leo elbowed Niles a second time.

“Ignore him,” he said. “You can just let him know the man he saved is here. There’s no rush.”

Inigo nodded, looking a little more unsure than he did a moment ago. Leo let him wander after the nurse to a more private room. When they were gone, he shot Niles a look.

“What?” Niles asked. “That’s what he thinks of us, anyway.”

Leo sighed. Niles squeezed his hand.

“Let’s just start with being ‘Niles’ and ‘Leo’ first,” Leo said. It was a good a first step as any.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave a comment below or hmu at my [tumblr!](http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/)


End file.
